Summer Reading lists now available

Summer is the perfect time for children of all ages to sit back and relax with a good book...or two! To that end, GCSD's recommended summer reading titles are now available online. Click here to see the full list of titles. Please take a few moments to review the list, organized by grade level, as compiled by our district librarians and teachers. New in 2009: Critical reviews and/or book summaries have been included to help make your selection process a bit easier. Happy reading!

4th annual Laps-of-Love event moved to June 13, 2009

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! The date for the 4th annual Laps-of-Love has been changed to Saturday June 13th from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Guilderland High School Track (previously scheduled for June 6). The event will take place rain or shine. All community members are invited to participate--children must be accompanied by an adult.

Laps of Love is an annual event held to raise money in support of the Dale Westcott Memorial Scholarship Fund. Dr. Westcott, a good friend and longtime leader as a teacher and administrator in the district, died from brain cancer in the fall of 2005. In the past three years, nearly $8,000 has been raised from Laps of Love to benefit three graduating seniors pursuing careers in math or science education.

The late Dr. Westcott's wife, Barbara, will be walking with us at this year's event. Please consider joining us on Saturday, June 13th to send a message of support and caring to all of the district's active and retired staff members who are fighting various forms of cancers. Download a pledge form here. (PDF) All pledges or donations will be collected at the walk-a-thon or can be sent in advance to the main office at Pine Bush Elementary School. For more information about Laps of Love, please contact event organizers Tim Horan or Trisha McLean at 357-2770.

Flying Dutchman make the connection between reading and football for
Pine Bush 5th graders.

Coach Penna and his varsity football players met with our fifth graders on the side field on May 22nd.  They had a great discussion with our students about being different kinds of readers (reluctant, occasional and avid.) Students, young and old, shared their favorite authors, titles and types of books they like to read.

Coach Penna, who is also a GHS English teacher, led the presentation by highlighting the main connections that you can make between reading and football. They both:
• provide exciting and thrilling opportunities,
• require patience, concentration and determination,
• show how hard work and investment lead to great rewards,
• shape who you are as a person,
• offer something for everyone.

  The players read a picture book written by famous football twins, Tiki and Ronde Barber, called Game Day. Fifth graders sat and enjoyed this story that stressed how all players are crucial to the success of a team and then had a chance to prove their own football skills by catching a few Dutchman passes.
 

Thank you for your support!
Voters approve 2009-10 school budget; elect three to Board of Education

On Tuesday, May 19, 2009, Guilderland Central School District residents approved (YES: 1,994, NO: 1,423) an $85,320,425 budget for the 2009-10 school year. This budget represents a 1.79 percent increase in spending over the current year’s budget and will result in an estimated 0.58 percent tax rate increase for residents in the Town of Guilderland—the lowest projected increase in the past 15 years.

Voters also approved (YES: 2,069, NO: 1,329) a proposition to purchase nine new buses and one maintenance truck and elected three members to the Board of Education:
• Julie Cuneo (2,266)
• Denise Eisele (1,864)
• Richard Weisz (1,659)
• Allan Simpson (1,618)
• Elijah Sharma (1,431)

For more information on the recently approved 2009-10 school budget, please visit our “School Budget News” home page.

Pine Bush Preserve Day is coming on May 15th!

  It is our annual day to celebrate the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, our school’s namesake, by taking part in learning activities, and/or dressing up as a Pine Bush plant or animal for a parade outside the school. Click here for more details about the day and links to activities to help you learn about the Pine Bush Preserve.

Our PTA is bringing The Wildlife Institute of Eastern New York  the day before Pine Bush Preserve Day, for live-animal presentations for our students. The Institutes mission is to foster environmental awareness by introducing people to the wonders that surround them, creatures that often live right in their own backyards!  Local creatures that we may be meeting are: the American Kestrel, Great-horned Owl, Turkey Vulture, Black Rat Snake and the Wood Turtle. (Clicking on the links will help you learn more about the animals before their visit. Be sure to have an older family member read to children, some of the information is very scientific!)

Above, members of the PBES Green Team collect and sort juice pouches. At right, students join Energy Manager and District Recycling Coordinator Fred Tresselt to conduct the school's first-ever waste audit.

Green Team news
Recycling at Pine Bush

The PBES Green Team has started two new initiatives that we wanted to share. This past month, we have begun collecting Capri-Sun (and similar brand) pouches to be recycled. A company called TerraCycle allows us to send in emptied and cleaned pouches for recycling. We have already collected 200 pouches that would have otherwise ended up in the trash. The Green Team has been doing an excellent job promoting, collecting, cleaning and counting pouches to send TerraCycle. The company offers a $.02 cash refund on every pouch sent. The money collected will go to beautify our PBE grounds with flowers and trees for the Orchard and surrounding areas.

The second initiative is our 'drink milk!' campaign. Starting on May 4th, students will be encouraged to finish the milk that they buy during lunch time. During a recent trash audit, we discovered that almost 2 gallons of milk were being thrown away by students in the cafeteria EACH DAY!! We are hoping the 'drink milk!' campaign will encourage students to finish their entire carton and promote less waste. This is good for our landfills and our bodies!

---Trisha McLean and Debra Martiniano, Green Team Advisors
To learn more about the Green Team, please visit our Clubs and Activities page

Lessons in ecology: George Steele visits PBES

George Steele, from the George Landis Arboretum, recently came to Pine Bush Elementary School for four days to teach students about various ecology topics. The project was funded by the Quest Enrichment funds. Kindergarten through second grade students attended an assembly program entitled, “Songs and Stories” and listened to George play his guitar as they sang along. Cub scouts were called up to lead a song they knew. Third through fifth graders were very excited to explore various activities hands-on in a classroom setting. Third graders were very busy producing recycled paper. Mrs. Rubin's class wrote information about the rainforest on their recycled paper and used it as part of their rainforest wall. This connected our global awareness priority very well! Mr. Steele taught fourth graders about the white-tailed deer from a scientific approach. They enjoyed touching skulls, bones, various artifacts, tools and instruments made from the deer. This tied in very well with the 4th grade's Iroquois studies. Fifth graders observed pond life by using their capturing devices (spoons and margarine tubs) to collect pond water creatures in bins of water. The highlight was seeing their creatures moving around magnified on a big screen! This topic connected to their earlier study of micro-organisms. Overall, Pine Bush students were very interested and learned a lot!

Click on any thumbnail below to enlarge the photo:

Attitude of Gratitude

Pine Bush Elementary School recently celebrated our bus drivers during our Bus Evacuation Drill on Thursday, March 12th. The theme for this activity was an "Attitude of Gratitude" for the members of our bus communities (routes) and our drivers.

Our teacher Bus Leaders asked students to think about what it means to be thankful and what they are grateful for as members of their bus community. Students signed a large blue ribbon in their Art classes during the past week which they presented to their drivers at the beginning of the drill.

Prowling for Owls at PBES

On Thursday February 26, 2nd grade students and their parents attended an Owl Prowl put on by Quest and the 2nd grade teachers. George Steele, an environmentalist from the George Landis Arboretum, taught students about owls, their different characteristics and their habitat. He demonstrated calls from a Barn Owl, a Screech Owl, a Hoot Owl and a Great-Horned Owl. Students then mimicked the calls back to him. Afterwards, everyone dissected an owl pellet and matched the bones to a template to find evidence of the owl's prey (mole, shrew, rodent or bird). Finally, the entire group walked outside to try to hear owls by listening quietly after making owl calls. The PTA was very generous, providing delicious cookies and juice for this event. Thanks to all who attended. It was a great time!

You are invited to Join the “Green Team”

Pine Bush Elementary School is excited to introduce a new club, the Green Team, created to help the PBES community become more educated on ways to help and protect our environment in our everyday lives. All 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are invited to join the club, which will meet in Mrs. McLean’s room (#207 in the Yellow Pod) on Thursday mornings (7:30-8am) and afternoons (2-2:40 pm) throughout the remainder of the school year. Scheduled meeting dates are:

• February 5 @ 2:00 pm

• February 26 @ 7:30 am

• March 12 @2:00 pm

• March 26 @ 7:30 am

• April 9 @ 7:30 am

• May 7 @ 2:00 pm

• May 28 @ 2:00 pm

To become part of the Green Team, please download a sign-up form here (PDF) and return it to Miss Martiniano, #405 in Blue Pod.

Your source for up-to-date Pine Bush information

Pine Bush Elementary School has an information line on the Times Union Sourceline, that will give all Pine Bush families the opportunity to hear prerecorded messages concerning current school activities and/or special emergency announcement. To access Pine Bush on the Sourceline, call 446-4000 and enter mailbox #8335.

Operation Recognition underway at Guilderland

Guilderland Central School District is proud to be a partner in Operation Recognition, a New York State program which grants a high school diploma to any veteran who left school prior to graduation to serve in the military during World War II, the Korean Conflict, or the Vietnam War. Individuals need not have attended GCSD at the time of service to be eligible for this program. Diplomas may also be awarded to next of kin, if eligibility is established.

Community members interested in participating in Operation Recognition are encouraged to contact Guilderland Superintendent of Schools John McGuire at 456-6200, ext. 3102, or visit our Operation Recognition home page for additional details and eligibility requirements.